


Before Everything Changed

by AccioTardis



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Action, Adventure, Backstory, Childhood, F/M, Gen, Melody Pond - Freeform, Memory, Quest, Teens, Time Agent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-15
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-08 22:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1958547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccioTardis/pseuds/AccioTardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Au, Jack Harkness as River's dad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“We need you to do this, Miss Song. You’re the most skilled agent we’ve had in a long time. We need you.” The business meeting had started only five minutes ago, yet it was already going downhill. Miss Song wanted nothing more than to go home and escape what she knew was to come. At this point in her life, an assignment this huge was only going to cause her grief.

“I have no choice, I presume?” She knew she didn’t. She had to do it, or her memory would be wiped. If this was a year prior, she’d have been excited and jumped for the opportunity. Now... not so much.

“No. You have no alternative, Miss Song.” The girl sighed. She was only twenty-three, but already the weight of her job was beginning to show itself in her eyes.

“How long do I have?”

“One day here, and another at the dock packing the ship. You leave in two days time. You may exit now.”

She got up and grabbed her bag from the back of the chair. Trying so hard to keep the tears from falling, she left the room.

“Oh, Miss Song?” Her Head-Agent called her back. She poked her head in, blinking the tears away furiously.

“Yes?”

“Good luck.”

******

“Look, Mars, just take her. Please. Take her to the address on this envelope.” Miss Song handed the man, who happened to be her neighbor and closest friend, a letter addressed to a Mr. Jack Harkness.

“I can’t do this.” The man, Mars, took the letter, but stared hesitantly at the bundle in her arms.

“Mars. You have to. I don’t think this mission is going to end well for me.” Mars still didn’t look convinced. “Please. Take her to the address. If I come back, I’ll get her from him. But she’s safest there.”

“I’ll do it. But I do hope you know what you’re doing.” He took the bundle of blankets from her arms, and you could see the face of a very young girl with the beginnings of blond curls protruding from it.

“Thank you. Mars, you really are my best friend.” Miss Song hugged Mars, kissed the little girl’s forehead, then grabbed her bag and used the vortex manipulator on her arm to disappear.

Mars looked at the spot where she once was, and turned back into his apartment in the darkness, holding the young girl.

******

“But... Daddy, pleaaaassee!” A girl that looked to be seven whined at her father.

“Look, I told you, no bars! I promised your mother that. You can come with me anywhere else, to any time. I don’t see why you keep insisting on following me to every cantina. It’s not for a girl your age.” The words seemed forced, as if this man saw nothing wrong with the idea of his daughter in a bar.

“I’m plenty old enough!” She stomped her foot, having not quite the effect she’d have liked, since it was muffled by the carpet.

“There will be plenty of-” The girl tried to interrupt but he kept talking. “Trust me, there will be plenty of jobs to do at the cantinas when you’re older. But for now, you’re to stay away from them.”

He knew that she would follow him anywhere, and the only true way to keep her from following him to a bar would be to stop going himself, and he knew that would never happen. But he had to try, at least. For her mother. He had to keep telling himself that.

“Fine.” She turned, causing her blond mass of curly hair to fly in multiple directions, and stalked out of the room.

“Young lady! You come back here right now.”

Her footsteps stopped and he could hear her slowly turning around. Reluctantly, she poked her head in the doorway.

“Yes, daddy?”

“All they way to me.”

The girl grinned mischievously as she walked toward her father and sat on his bed next to him.

“I haven’t done anything wrong!”

He internally smiled at this girl. Yeah, she was definitely related to him. He held out his hand.

“Left pocket. Now.”

The girl pouted, but she did as her father said. She pulled a wristband out of her pocket, and slowly handed it back to its owner.

“I told you not to steal my vortex manipulator. Last time you used it without permission, it short circuited.”

“But, you fixed it.”

“Not cheaply.”

“I want my own!” Here she pouted again, and her dad pulled her into a huge hug.

“You will. You’ll pass your test and become a Time Agent, don’t worry. You’re growing up too fast. Just enjoy this time.” The girl smiled up at him. “And you don’t acquire it by stealing it! At least, not from your dad.”

“Good night, daddy!”

The girl kissed her father on his cheek, and pounced out of the room, her golden curls flying.

“Good night...” He told the air where she had last been. He turned his vortex manipulator over in his hands. He really should put it somewhere else, he thought. She’d find it anyways, he knew. Like father, like daughter.

He put his hand in his coat pocket- which he had forgotten to take off when he came home earlier- and felt the letter given to him by the girl’s mom. Not his wife- he didn’t have one. It hadn’t started as anything serious, a quick business trip with an associate to Alfalfa Metraxis to make sure the humans weren’t colonizing too fast. He’d told himself that this trip would be purely professional. After a few drinks, and the fact that someone at the office had made a mistake (or maybe they just knew him) and only reserved one room for the both of them, his aspect changed a bit. Anyway, they did their job and returned back to the Agency. She was promoted. He never saw her again.

And then six years ago, his daughter arrived on his doorstep- well, hoverstep, technically speaking- with a note addressed to him. He pulled it out now and read it.

_Jack,_

_I know this is very unexpected, it was a shock to me, too. This is our daughter. I was never going to tell you, you’re not exactly a man of commitment. I wouldn’t even be sending her to you if not for the Agency. But you know how they are, I can’t refuse. Please, if I never come to take her back, watch her for me. I know that you aren’t the best fathering man, but I know you can help. Keep her out of danger. Stay out of the pubs. Train her well. Love her. Protect her. I know you will raise her the best you can. Her name is River._

__

He folded the note back up and stuck it back in his pocket. He thought he was doing alright in raising her. He wondered if her mom would approve.

He shrugged his coat and shoes off and flung himself on his bed. Snapping his fingers, the lights turned out and he fell asleep almost immediately.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Happy birthday, River!” Jack woke his daughter up by running into her room and tickling her. She screamed and smacked him in the face with her pillow. He pretended to be hurt, and rolled off the bed. She giggled and peered over the edge to see if he was alright. But he was her dad, of course he was alright! Nothing could hurt him.

 

“Morning, daddy!” She rolled out of bed and landed on top of him, to which he made a barely audible “oomph.”

 

“Good morning! How’s my new eight year old?”

 

“Daddy, I’m not new. I’m still the same me!” To prove it to him, she spun around in a circle. Jack laughed.

 

“Right, you are. Do you want to see what I got you for your birthday?”

 

“Yes, yes, yes!” She was jumping up and down in a circle around him, and it was making him dizzy following her. He put his hands into one of his pockets and pulled out a rather crudely wrapped gift. She didn’t mind the wrapping, of course. The covering would be gone in a minute, anyways. It always was.

 

She tore the giant piece of paper off, and stood in shock at the gift her father had given her. As she realized what it was, her face lit up with excitement.

 

“Oh my gosh, daddy, thank you!” She jumped up and ran over to him, tackling him in a hug.

 

“You do realize, though, that it isn’t a full blaster? It only stuns. Don’t worry, as you get older I’ll get you improvements.” The fact that the blaster merely stunned had no effect on River- she was still in awe over receiving her very first gun.

 

Jack picked her off of him. “Alright, get dressed and ready for your party. They’ll be here soon, and I need to finish setting up.” He walked out and River quickly tossed her new gun on her bed and opened her drawers. She pulled out her favorite outfit, black skinny jeans and a white long sleeve shirt (modeled after her favorite character in a very, very old movie- Han Solo) and pulled out a holster belt that had, until now, remained empty. She excitedly put her new stun blaster into it, and ran downstairs to help her dad.

******

 

The doorbell chimed again, but River ignored it. Everyone she had invited was already here, and she really didn’t want to be bothered to get up from her circle of friends to answer the door. Jack didn’t mind, though. It was her special day, and he understood that. Besides, he had a fairly good idea who it was, and Jack had invited him.

 

Jack stepped over some presents that the kids had just dropped, and opened the door. There stood a man whom Jack had never seen, but he figured it was who he had invited.

 

“Hi there.” He smiled at the man on the other side of the door and held out his hand. “I’m Jack. Jack Harkness.”

 

The other man shook his hand and entered the apartment, taking off his hat as he did so. “Mars. You don’t need my last name.”

 

“No, of course not. Everyone’s secretive these days. Sorry, excuse the floor.” He had to kick a pathway free so they could walk through to the kitchen.

 

Jack walked on ahead, but realized his visitor wasn’t following him. Mars was still standing where he entered, staring at the children playing pin the eyestalk on the Dalek. The kids laughed as they spun one poor boy around and around, and the closest he could come to placing it correctly was the plunger. He watched as they argued over who would be next. He pulled himself away from the children’s game, and headed the way Jack went.

 

“That’s an interesting idea. Did you come up with it?” Mars asked Jack curiously.

 

“No, actually, River did. She always did like the scary monsters in the books I read her.”

 

“Ahh. That makes sense. Like her mother, then, in that aspect.”

 

“I thought it came from me... Though you did know her mother better, perhaps she enjoyed them more than I did. Alright, let’s start this. Thanks for coming.”

 

“It was no issue.” Mars lied. He had actually had a convention to go to... but he was still hoping to make it. “So what do you want to know about her mother?”

 

“Can we start with how she died?”

******

 

The kids were cheering and clapping as a blond girl placed the eyestalk almost in the exact correct position on the Dalek. She turned back around and smiled broadly, removing the dark-inducing shades and handing them to River.

 

“River! It’s MY turn now.” A particularly obnoxious little girl with straight red hair made a grab for the eyestalk in River’s hand.

 

“Alisa, leave me alone! You just had a turn.” She crossed her arms, keeping the eyestalk out of the redhead, Alisa,’s reach.

 

“You’re being selfish, again.”

 

“I am not!” River was starting to get the dangerous glint in her eye that she had whenever she was angry.

 

“You are. You’re not sharing.”

 

“I am, too. And anyways, it’s my birthday. I can do whatever I want.” The kids around had started to clear a little circle around the arguing girls. They all knew what happened when either got too angry, and they were smart enough to realize what would happen when both exploded at once.

 

“No, you can’t! You have to share. Give me it, I want to play!” Alisa made a grab for River, nearly tackling her into the couch. That was a huge mistake. Within a second, Alisa was on the floor, paralyzed, with River above her, holding her new gun in her hand- staring at it as if she couldn’t believe it had just stunned the girl.

 

Someone had the sense- or incredible stupidity- to go into the kitchen and get Jack. He and Mars moved swiftly into the living room, in time to see Alisa starting to stir hesitantly and River putting her gun back into its holster. Jack grinned quickly before he realized that as the “responsible adult”, he needed to show some responsibility.

 

“Okay, everyone not involved head into the kitchen for cake and ice cream!” He turned to Mars for a second. “Do you mind helping them? It’s in the freezer. I just need to talk to River privately.”

 

“No problem.” Mars entered the chaos of kids talking about what they had witnessed- and marveling over the fact that River actually owned a gun- and all of them seemed to want cake at exactly the same time. He sighed and pushed through the huddle of kids to get to the freezer.

 

Meanwhile, Jack was faced with River and Alisa. Winking at his daughter, he headed over to where Alisa lay. River backed off and sat down on the couch, ready to watch whatever was to come with great amusement.

 

“Alisa, are you alright?” He had to keep the laughter from showing in his voice. River could tell this was going to be one of those times where she got out of actually being in trouble.

 

“No. She shot me! With a blaster! You all are crazy. I want to go home, now!” River rolled her eyes. Her honest opinion was that the party would have been more of a success if she hadn’t even been invited, but Jack told her she had to. ‘She’s the only other pending Time Agent in your class, River. You should invite her.’ He had said.

 

“Okay, just call your mother and she can come and get you. Would you like any cake while you wait?”

 

“No, you’ll just poison me. And I’ve already called her. She’s coming for me now.” The doorbell rang. “That would be her. Hope I won’t be seeing you, then.” She grabbed her bag and stormed out the door.

 

“River... please explain.” He started slowly.

 

“Well, daddy, she was being mean. On my birthday. Alisa is a right horrid person! And you made me invite her, daddy, so it’s your fault.”

 

“I believe you. But, River, you can’t just pull your blaster out at someone if they’re annoying you.” He did wish he was there to see her first shot. He’d have to train her a bit before letting her walk out with the blaster in her belt.

 

“Are you going to take it from me?” She sounded so heartbroken at that moment, that even if Jack had wanted to take it, he probably wouldn’t’ve been able to.

 

“Of course not, I just gave it to you. Just be a little more careful.” He hugged her tightly. She was his little girl, and he was going to train her before she started at the Agency.

 

“Jack?” Mars poked his head into the living room. “I’ve finished with the cake. Can I talk to River for a second? And then I’m just going to go.”

 

“Oh, oh yeah. Of course. Thank you. For everything.” He hugged Mars, and walked into the kitchen to monitor the kids eating.

 

River watched the man approach warily. She had never seen him before, but she sensed that he meant her no harm.

 

“River, I knew your mother.” She stared at him warily, unsure of what she was going to hear. “And you look just like she did. She was brave, your mother. Not afraid of anything. Always took a stand. Keep going the direction you’re going- you’ll be a terrific Time Agent. The best of the best. Your mother would be proud.” He smiled gently at her.

 

“Thank you, sir.” She prided herself on remembering her manners and not being rude, like Jack was trying to teach her.

 

“Now go and have some cake. Enjoy your birthday, River. I hope we meet again, sometime.”

 

Mars clicked something on a wristwatch- which River knew to be his vortex manipulator- and disappeared. She stared at the spot he last stood for a second, before hurrying into the cheers and applause in the kitchen. She smiled and accepted all the comments the way only a Time Agent could, and basked in the adoration of her friends.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“Dad! Mail’s here.” River was sitting at the bar in their kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal and reading a newspaper article that had captured her attention.

Jack came out from his room, wearing a robe and towel-drying his hair. He walked over to the door and bent down to retrieve the mail that had been sent through the mail tubes and fallen onto the floor. The mail tubes had been set up only recently in the apartment. The mail android placed their mail in the tube corresponding to their room number, and the tube shoots the mail up to their room. Saves a lot of walking.

He flipped through the pile of letters and envelopes. Bills and notices and the new issue of “Time and Hair” magazine. At the bottom of the stack was a letter addressed to River. Jack immediately knew where it was from- that stamp in the bottom corner gave it away instantly.

“River, this one’s for you.” Her eyes still scanned the newspaper, but she held her hand out for it.

“Is it a late birthday card?”

“Not really... but you can call it that, if you’d like.” He handed her the envelope.

She finished reading the article and glanced at the envelope in her hand. Her eyes, like her father’s, jumped to the stamp in the corner. Without even opening it, she jumped up from her breakfast (knocking over the bar stool she had been sitting on) and ran and hugged her dad.

“It’s come! I’ve been accepted!” Jack rolled his eyes.

“Go on, then. Open it.”

She did as her father said, opening the envelope and pulling out the letter. She read it out loud.

“‘ _Miss River Song, we are pleased to notify you of your acceptance into the Time Agency’s Academy of Education. If you would like to join us, please be ready to leave for the school on the first of August. We will be sending an Agent to you. Make sure you are completely packed and are ready to leave. As you will be remaining at the school for three years before receiving a chance to break, pack accordingly. You will be allowed packages and mail to keep in touch with families. Take note, this is a rigorous course and you will need to be serious in your attempt to become a qualified Time Agent. Wishing you a happy remainder of your summer, we look forward to your presence at the Academy. Sincerely, Headmaster Whitley._ ’ Dad, I never actually realized we couldn’t even go home. I won’t be able to see you for three years?”

“River, it’s not that bad. The time goes fast there. And you’ll have friends- friends that actually understand your capabilities, not these rather standard humans- and you’ll pass your test after your third year and earn a break. You pass that, and I’ll take you anywhere and anywhen you want.”

“But that’s in three years!” She used to be so excited at the prospect of the Academy- now she wasn’t so sure. Anything that took her away from her dad for three years couldn’t be all that great. “Wait... where is the school located? I never realized I didn’t know...”

“Oh, the school is in orbit above our heads. We have specialized bases down here on Earth, in  strategic locations, but the Academy is in space. We couldn’t have you youngsters blowing up holes in every landmark down here. And, River, I know it seems like a long time now, but it goes fast. Faster than you’d ever imagine.”

She looked up at her dad, wanting to believe his words, but knowing she would miss him.

“Come on, River, let’s get you packed. Time goes fast for a Time Agent.” He held out his hand and she took it, heading into her room to pack her things. She only had two months left with her dad, and she was going to make them last.

******

“Are you sure you’ve got everything?” Jack asked her again. She merely rolled her eyes at him.

“Yes, dad.” She fixed her holster belt- which had her stun blaster residing in it- and straightened her packed bags.

A knock on the door caused her to jump, and Jack answered it. A man in a suit stood outside, and the Time Agency logo was stamped on his blazer. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She wouldn’t be seeing her dad for three years.

“Are you ready to go, miss?” He eyed the two bags at her feet and the one in her hand. They couldn't tell what he was thinking, for his face was emotionless. River briefly wondered if he was an actual human, or just an advanced humanoid android.

River turned to her father with tears in her eyes. “Bye, dad.” He hugged her tightly.

“Don’t forget to write me, River. I want to hear all about it. I’ll be expecting those letters.” She grinned up at him.

“Of course, dad.” She hugged him tighter. “I’ll miss you. I love you, daddy. Don’t worry, I’ll pass my exam after my third year and come visit. Don’t forget me!”

He smiled. “I’m not going to forget you. Go. Have fun. Learn. You’ll have an amazing time, River. I love you, too.”

River let go of her father and went and stood by the maybe-android man. He was already holding her other two bags. She grabbed the vortex manipulator on his arm, like she used to do with her father when he took her places. She tried to put on a brave face, and smiled at her dad.

The man from the academy touched the vortex manipulator, and the two disappeared, leaving Jack looking extremely glum.

******

“Alright, miss, here’s your room assignment.” The maybe-android man handed her another piece of paper. “The tour for all incoming students is at five o’clock sharp. It’s mandatory. You meet in the lobby. There’s a map on the sheet, you should be fine getting there. If you need help, ask an older student. Good luck.” He dropped her bags and disappeared, leaving her standing there alone amongst groups of older students.

River ignored the feeling of appearing stupid to the older students, and picked up her bags. She glanced down at the sheet, where ‘River Song: Room 521’ was written above a map of the campus. She looked up, noting that the first building she saw had to be about sixteen stories tall. It had a number two hanging from its door. The next building had a one. She turned in the opposite direction, watching the numbers increase. She found building five and walked towards it, keeping her head held high and refusing to show any fear at the unknown.

She walked confidently up the path and into building five, where she was faced with a choice: stairs or elevator. There was a group of older-looking kids in front of the elevator. She’d take the stairs. They had a nice view of the campus, anyways. As she struggled up the stairs with her bags, she looked out the glass panel between the stairs and outside. All the buildings appeared huge with multiple stories. There were a lot of kids here, too, it seemed. And they all had the air of a budding Time Agent- something River had definitely seen lacking in the human school she went to before.

She stopped climbing at the entrance for the second floor. The stairs continued, though. She placed one bag down in order to open the door. She pulled it open, struggled to push the bag on the floor inside the hall with her foot, and walked into the hallway, slamming the door on the back of her foot. Biting her tongue to keep herself from shouting out in pain, she picked up the bag again and searched for room 521. The door closest to her said 529. She kept walking down the hall, and turned left. 521 ended up being at the very end. She wondered briefly how she’d unlock the door, but decided that they must not lock it on the first day. She opened the door slowly and walked in.

Two girls stood in the room already, holding their bags. They looked up when River walked in.

“Hello...” The girl closest to the window spoke up. “I’m Vitalia. And you?” She seemed friendly enough.

“River.” She glanced at the other girl, whose head was down. “Nice to meet you.”

Vitalia dropped her things and went over by the other girl. “Are you alright?” River could now tell that the girl was silently crying.

“Yeah...I’ll be fine. I just miss my mum.” Vitalia hugged her as River also dropped her belongings and headed over to the girl, trying to comfort her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see her again. And you can write her! What’s your name?”

The girl tried to calm herself down a bit. “Evelyn.” She took calming breaths, and finally looked up. She had tear stains on her cheeks, but she still appeared pretty. Vitalia let go of her. All three girls looked up as the door opened again.

They watched as another girl struggled with her two bags. River got up and held the door open for her.

“You know, you’d think with all the technology these days, they’d have an easier way to carry bags. I’m Klisia, by the way.” She was talking already. The two bags she was holding weren’t her only bags- two obviously older boys were carrying the other four. The other three girls just stared.

“Alright, Klisia, I helped you. You’d better not tell mum I didn’t. Don’t miss the new student’s tour.” He and the other boy dropped her stuff on the floor and walked away.

“Right. Sorry, my brother’s a bit mean. So, what are your names?”

River was the first to recover from the shock. “River.”

“I’m Vitalia, and this is Evelyn.” Vitalia spoke for Evelyn, who didn’t trust herself to speak much yet.

“Have we already picked rooms?” Klisia eyed the floor and the bags scattered everywhere. “Apparently not. Alright. Shall we?” She headed past the living room, to where there were two rooms on either side. The kitchen was straight ahead. “I’ve heard about this, my three older brothers have all gone through the Academy. I’ve heard stories.”

Vitalia, not one to let another person take the lead, grabbed her bags and headed into the room on the left. River closed the door and picked up her bags. She followed Vitalia into the room on the left, leaving Evelyn and Klisia with the right room. They could hear Klisia talking a mile a minute, and loudly proclaim “You only have one bag?”.

“That’s going to be an interesting room pairing. I kind of feel bad for leaving Evelyn with her.” River whispered to Vitalia. Vitalia giggled and her medium-length black hair swayed.

“Evelyn will be fine. She’s strong when she needs to be.”

“Did you know her already?”

“Somewhat. Her mom knew mine. She sometimes brought Evelyn over with her, but they lived farther away. Do you know anyone who’s here?” While the two talked, they were unpacking their clothes and setting up their things on the vanity.

“Not really. I know one girl, but we aren’t friends. She went to my school. She was an absolute horror.”

“Oh, that stinks. Woah- what’s on your hip? Is that really a sonic blaster?”

River took her blaster out of the holster and showed it to her. “No, not sonic. It’s stun, though. Still powerful.”

“You are so lucky. Can’t you imagine what it’ll be like when we have our own sonic blasters, though?” River was definitely starting to like this girl. Anyone who shared her love for sonic blasters was worth being a friend with.

“I know... And our own vortex manipulators. We’d be unstoppable.” Vitalia nodded.

Evelyn walked into their room. “Vitalia, River, Klisia says it’s time to leave for the new student’s tour...”

“Okay, thanks. Come on, River.” Vitalia walked out of the room with Evelyn, and River threw the rest of her belongings onto her bed.

“Hurry, you guys. You don’t want to be late for this. We need to be able to know where everything is and we get our class schedules and everything!” Klisia hurried out the door.

Vitalia and Evelyn looked at each other and River pocketed the map she had been given- she didn’t exactly trust Klisia to get them there.

“Okay, let’s go.” The three of them walked out, and River turned the lights off in their room. They walked down the hall together, and hurried to catch up with Klisia for the tour of their new school- and the next three years of their lives.

 


	4. Chapter 4

“Alright, is everyone here? Not you three- leave these kids alone. Would you like me to get the Headmaster? Shoo!” Three extremely older boys- so old they could be graduating this year- ran off laughing. “Right, everyone stand still as I take a headcount.”

 

No one moved, but everyone was looking at everyone else. Older kids walked past in their groups of friends, sizing up this seemingly tiny group of kids. They were being watched as students reminisced about their first days at the Academy.

 

“Okay. Everyone’s here, follow me.” The twenty-four kids, all looking excitedly about, followed the tour guide. “I’m Professor Harrington. I’ll be one of your teachers this year, as well as in classes you take in years to come. For you, I’ll be teaching basic physics. Later on, you’ll find my classes changed to something a bit more complicated.” He led them out of the lobby (which happened to be in building one) and towards the center of the campus.

 

“Alright. Building one, floor one, which we just left, is sort of a common ground area for all students. Fireplaces, tables, comfy chairs. That sort of thing. Building one’s remaining floors are administration. To the left, you see building two. That’s the teacher’s dorms. Students aren’t allowed in there. Building three, that’s the cafeteria. The bottom floor is the expected cafeteria. The second floor is more of a nicer eating area, and the third and fourth floors are off limits to you lot, until you move up a few years. The fifth floor is for teachers only. Buildings four, five, six, and seven are lodgings. Four and five are females, six and seven are the males. You should have all gotten your room numbers. You’ll be with your room mates the whole seven years you’re here.

 

“That brings me to my next point- how your seven years at the Academy will be spent. Well, the first three years are going to be spent teaching you the fundamentals. All the basics. Then you have a huge test. Part of it will be written. The other part will be application. You must do fairly well on both sections in order to pass. If you pass, you earn yourself a month long break. If you don’t... well, that month is used to make sure you do pass it. The retake will be held at the end of that month. If you don’t pass the retake, you retake year three.” He stopped and noticed the fear in some of the kid’s faces. “Now, don’t worry! That’s in three years. Most kids pass this test their first time!

 

“Once you pass that, your next four years at the Academy become more specific to the field you want to go into. More application. You use everything you learn in the beginning years. It’s a very intense time, but you learn a lot. At the end of your seventh year, you must take the Graduation exam and pass it. If you don’t, you have to retake the basic test from year three, and retake your seventh year. Then you will have another chance to pass the Graduation exam. However, if you do pass your Graduation exam, then you graduate! You become a fully-qualified Time Agent, and are capable of being sent into the field for missions at any time. You also get your very own vortex manipulator.” He paused to let that sink in.

 

“Right then, let’s carry on. Everyone, follow me!” He moved the group towards building eight. “Building eight is the science lab. We’ll be going in here. But, before we do, I’d like to mention about the other buildings. Building nine is purely math-based classes. Building ten is for your English and literature. Building eleven holds the miscellaneous classes. Building twelve is for testing. And building thirteen? That’s for special events. Come on. To building eight!”

 

They all followed him in, dying to ask questions, but somehow knowing now wasn’t the time.

 

“Right. So all your science classes are in here, as I said. We just need to go through here.” He opened a door and led the group through the classroom that had a few scattered students working on board-like machines. “These are juniors. They’re just working on a report about tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolators and their effect on the time continuum. Through here, everyone.” He opened a door on the other side of the classroom and led the group through. The working upperclassmen didn’t look up as they passed, just kept working on some wiring with the boards.

 

The room he entered now was smaller, and just had a table lined with papers and keys.

 

“This is the end of the tour. You all already have a map of the complex, but you also need your schedules and some supplies. Okay, when I call your name, come get your packet. Once you get it, I’d suggest going back to your dorm and resting up. Tomorrow will most definitely be a busy day. Braden Archer, come get yours.”

 

A tall boy with messy blond hair walked up, took his packet and strode out of the room. Vitalia elbowed River and whispered to her.

 

“Let’s wait for each other so we don’t have to walk out by ourselves.” River nodded. the professor had called even more names.

 

“Evelyn Gard.” Evelyn went up and grabbed her packet, and then came back and stood by Vitalia and River.

 

“What’s in it?” River asked her. Evelyn shrugged and opened the packet. She pulled out multiple pieces of paper- the top one being a schedule, two notebooks with the Agency logo on them, a pen, and a key. The key was, presumably, a key to their door.

 

“River Song.” River was handed her packet, and turned back around to wait for Vitalia.

 

“Vitalia Thorngood.” She walked up, grabbed her packet, and turned around.

 

“Guys, where’d Klisia go?” River and Evelyn turned around to look. But Klisia was definitely gone.

 

“Was she even called?” River asked.

 

“I didn’t hear her name. And I was listening to the whole thing.” Evelyn spoke in a whispered tone.

 

“No, not when you where showing us what was in the packet. Come on, if she couldn’t even wait for us...” Vitalia had gotten slightly angry, but she still remained a calm outward appearance. River could recognize the glint in her eye so similar to her own, though.

 

However, Klisia hadn’t actually left them. She was merely in the other room, talking with the upperclassmen about their report. When she saw them come out, she bounded towards them.

 

“Have you seen it? That thing is so cool, it creates an explosion and then you can ride it like a surfboard. Though the explosion’s a bit damaging. Are we ready? Let’s go! We need to rest for our first day.”

 

Klisia swung her arms over River and Evelyn, pushing them into walking with her. Vitalia rolled her eyes at River and walked alongside them. They walked all the way to their room in this manner, and then turned in early. River finished unpacking her things, and they all went to bed with hopes and fears about the next day.

******

 

As it turned out, their classes weren’t that difficult. They started in the morning, waking up and going down to breakfast. Vitalia and Klisia grabbed enough breakfast for the four of them, while River and Evelyn staked out a table. The food wasn’t half bad, but they had to rush out of fear of being late to their first class.

 

They all had the same first period, which was with the man who gave the tour the night before- Professor Harrington. He re-introduced himself and gave a not-very-brief-at-all talk about what he’ll be teaching. The class was called “Beginning Physics”, but their teacher was used to teaching the older kids, so he explained that the class may be a bit more difficult than anticipated. The bell rang and everyone had gotten up- and that’s when River noticed that Alisa was in her class. She ground her teeth in and refused to let that get to her. She knew that girl would be coming to the Academy, anyways.

 

Their next class was in building ten, and was known as “Historic Literature”. There, Professor Whitley assigned the seating of the kids in groups of two. River sat next to a boy named Luke, Klisia sat next to a boy called Owen, and Vitalia and Evelyn were lucky enough to sit next to each other. Their teacher this period went into detail, explaining that in this class they’d be studying famous works of literature from long, long ago. Shakespeare, Dickens, Rowling. All the work from centuries long ago, that still lived on in the hearts of true readers. Vitalia pointed out later that Whitley was a bit overdramatic.

 

The headed a building over, to building eleven. There they climbed five sets of stairs to reach the gym for first years. Their coach, Coach Purve, explained that this would be their period of perfecting their combat skills and occasionally studying new weapons. Already, River and Vitalia could see this becoming one of their favorite classes.

 

After third period, the classes for students in years one through three broke for lunch. They headed back to the cafeteria. While River and Vitalia went to get the food, Evelyn and Klisia head towards the tables. The minute River and Vitalia were gone, Alisa and two other girls walked over to the table where Evelyn and Klisia sat. Alisa introduced her friends as Phebe and Medea, and proceeded to harass Evelyn about the state of her clothes. When River and Vitalia finally got back, they saw Klisia standing on her seat yelling herself hoarse at Alisa. The three girls backed off quickly, and Vitalia and River ran over to Evelyn, who had tears in her eyes.

 

“I don’t think they’ll bother us again.” Klisia said, climbing down from her chair and picking up her food. From that moment on, no matter what Klisia said or did, she would always be in their group of friends. And Alisa, Medea, and Phebe stayed far away from the four of them, though River would always feel sorry for Diana- the other girl staying in Alisa’s dorm room.

 

Lunch ended, and they had to split up. Vitalia and Evelyn headed over to building ten for their journalism elective, and River and Klisia headed to building eleven for their electives. River was taking World History- figuring that, as a time traveler, she would need to know which places in history were the best to go to, and which times not to visit. She was with some other first years- Emily, Diana, Sylvius, William, and Seth. Klisia went to cooking, and that would turn out to be extremely helpful for the four of them later on.

 

Next period, River and Klisia joined Vitalia and Evelyn in building ten for English One, with Professor Hastings. He seemed to have a good time with teaching, so they hoped his class would be as fun as it seemed now. Evelyn said later that she thought this would be her favorite class. He explained to them that though weapons might be able to win most wars, you could also win by constructing your words into weapons.

 

After that, they headed to building nine for their math class. Their teacher introduced himself as Professor Gant, and talked about their schedule for their first year. They’d be combining algebra one, geometry, and algebra two into a year long course, in order to prepare themselves for higher level math that was still to come. They had some kids from years two and three in here, who had failed this class before and had to retake it.

 

Their last class of the day was once again in building eleven, and it was Weapons Design with Professor Forge. He seemed like an alright teacher- but he was strict. He had been in more than one war throughout the course of history. Klisia pointed out later that as a Time Agent, he probably had gone through time to fight in every possible battle. River had to agree with her. But Forge knew his stuff. They would be learning about all weapons used before, and then designing newer, modern weapons with a much better performance rate than the weapons of old.

 

None of the four girls failed any of their classes in the three years to come- Evelyn being the most skilled in all but Field Training, where River and Vitalia were the top in the class. Klisia, though never failing, didn’t apply herself much to her studies- but still managed semi-reasonable grades. Evelyn had top marks, and River and Vitalia did alright. Though some courses would change in the three years, their math class evolved into Statistics and Data Collection in the next two years, the main fundamentals stayed the same. All the first years learned the ways of the Academy, and they were all prepared (some more than others) for their exam at the end of year three. But what they gained the most in those three years wasn’t knowledge, skill, or information. It was the friendships that they made, binding themselves to others who shared a similar fate, and who would be there in the years to come.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

River awoke to Vitalia looming over her, about to shake her. River groaned.

 

“It’s too early.” Then she remembered what day it was. Holy Clom. She’d forgotten. How, she didn’t know. It was only the most important day of her life so far. She jumped out of bed and noticed that Vitalia was already dressed. “What time is it?”

 

“Seven o’clock.” River went to the closet and searched for an outfit frantically. “River, calm down. It’s okay, we’ve got some extra time. Klisia’s cooking, so we don’t have to go down to the cafeteria.”

 

“Oh, thank god. Okay, what should I wear?” She held out two outfits- one being her signature look, black skinny jeans and a white shirt (this one was short sleeved, and had a bit lower cut than the one from when she was eight), and navy skinny jeans with a red tank top and a black leather jacket.

 

“River, I don’t know." River had other clothes, of course, but these happened to be her two favorite outfits. She stared at them for a second, before choosing the black and white combo- just for the novelty of it. She changed quickly and headed out of the room with Vitalia.

 

"Oh, look who finally woke up. Thought you were going to sleep through the exam!" Klisia laughed. "Come on, I've made breakfast. Vitalia's eaten already."

 

River took a seat next to Evelyn, who was sitting at the table surrounded by her notebooks- all open to seemingly random notes- and her flashcards, which she was currently flipping through at an alarming rate.

 

"Ev... You alright?" She didn't look up, but continued flipping cards as she answered.

 

"Yeah... I'm just going through the notes from the data collection class last year, I had trouble with the section 13.4."

 

"Evelyn, you will do the best. Everyone knows you're top in class." She glanced up briefly.

 

"I have to do extremely well on my written- you know the application test is where I'm going to fail!"

 

"We'll help you. And you need to eat." Vitalia grabbed a plate from the counter, Klisia piled the omelet she had made onto it, and Rver handed the plate to her.

 

"You'll be fine." Klisia added.

 

"I hope so." Evelyn continued flipping through the cards.

 

River finished the eggs and washed the plate off. Having Klisia cook saved some time, but they still had to hurry to building twelve.

 

River went back to her room and opened her nightstand. She pulled out her holster, and her stun blaster, and put them on. She wasn't sure if she'd be allowed to use it during the application test, but she'd have it if she could. Underneath where the holster had been was a collection of letters from her dad. River and Jack had written every other week for these three years, and the letter that lay on top was the most recent in which Jack wished his daughter luck on passing the exam. She hesitated for a second, but placed it in her pocket for good luck.

 

River joined the others in their living room, in which Klisia was brushing her hair, Evelyn was clutching her notebooks for dear life, and Vitalia had a curious, out-of-this-world expression on her face.

 

"Alright, are we ready?" River asked. Evelyn nodded as her response, and Vitalia moved to open the door while Klisia tossed her brush down on the couch.

 

They marched across the campus to building twelve- a building reserved solely for the end of year three and the Graduation exams. The first floor was a lobby, with chairs around tables and desks along the outskirts. There were no stairs, only a lift in the center of the room going up. Some third years were already here, but not all twenty-four of them. Along the edges at the desks, there were one or two seniors who had to retake this exam because they had failed their Graduation one.

 

Klisia grabbed four chairs around a table that was empty. They sat down to wait as the rest of their class trickled in.

 

When the whole class was here, someone turned on the loudspeaker and spoke. Half the class jumped- River and Vitalia both rolled their eyes.

 

"All third years should listen to these instructions. They will only be said once. The first section of the exam will be the written portion. You will have two hours to complete it. When you finish, you can come back down here. You can't leave. Once that test is finished, you will wait in the lobby as we call you up in groups of four to take your application portion. Once everyone has completed this section, you will be sent back here to wait for the scores. Again, you can't leave. We will then announce if you pass or fail. You can't bring any notes or chewing gum into the exam.

 

"Please, in groups of four, get onto the lift. It will take you to the required floor. Thank you."

 

River wasn't surprised at all to see Alisa as one of the first on the lift.

 

"I can't bring my notes... Should I just leave them here?" Evelyn looked like she'd be heartbroken if she had to leave them.

 

"Yeah. It's just us here, anyways. No one will take them. Here-" Vitalia handed her a pillow that had been on the seat. "Put them under this." Evelyn took it gratefully.

 

"Alright, let's get in line and do this!" Klisia was literally jumping in place. She did this occasionally if we had a major chapter test, but it was never this bad. She always did well on tests, having never actually failed. But unlike Evelyn, who also hadn't fail, she had much lower grades because while Evelyn even did extra credit, Klisia rarely turned her work in.

 

We were the last in line for the lift. When we got up to the floor surrounded by desks, we realized being last wasn't the best. The only four desks left were separated. We each headed towards one. Professor Whitley was to be our proctor, it seemed like.

 

"This written test is on every subject taken from your first day of year one to your last day of year three. Each test has been specially designed for each student- no two tests are the same, so don't even try cheating. When you're done, turn the test into me and head down on the lift. Good luck." She sat down at her desk and pulled out a book.

 

River glanced down at her test, wrote her name with the special pencil they had given her, and read the first question. Her first thought was 'Why did I even take World History in the first place?!'. She sighed and tried to answer it as best she could, but she really just wanted to get it over with to take the application portion.

******

 

River, Vitalia, and Klisia were sitting at the table from before, waiting for Evelyn to come down the lift. River was holding Evelyn's notebooks. None of them were talking, because they knew that as soon as Evelyn came down she'd want to go over the entire test.

 

Klisia had been the first one finished, nearly forty-five minutes into the test. River doubted she checked over it at all- and perhaps Klisia had reached her level of self-confidence. Or maybe her test was just easier than the rest- though she doubted it. The computer that specially created the tests made each one purposefully difficult for every student. Vitalia had come down next, finishing after an hour. River had only just come down, having checked her test twice. She was nervous, but she was definitely glad it was over.

 

They all looked up as the lift came down, but it was only Owen and Lilette. The three looked down again. Fifteen minutes left during the written exam, and finally Evelyn came down.

 

Vitalia jumped up to hug her, River got up to hand her notebooks over, and Klisia loudly proclaimed "What took you so long?!"

 

Evelyn blushed. "I retook my test twice on the scrap paper, and checked my answers against my original test."

 

"Ev, you're crazy." Vitalia hugged her again, and they sat down.

 

"I think I did alright, though. Did any of you have the question on the guns used by the thirtieth century's warfare council?"

 

River and Vitalia shook their heads no, but Klisia did.

 

"Sorry, though, Ev, I don't remember what I put down."

 

Evelyn looked disheartened. "Oh, okay. What about the question that asked about the legend of the Face of Boe? Who is he supposed to say his last words to? I couldn't remember the whole legend, so I put the person that stumbles upon him as he's dying."

 

"I had that question!" River exclaimed. She was happy to read one question she knew on the test. She found that legend particularly interesting, how something could be so old... And have seen so much of the world. "I put a lonely traveler, the last of his kind. But I'm sure they'll accept your answer, too, because the traveler would be stumbling upon him..."

 

Evelyn didn't look convinced her answer would count, so River continued the review of the exam for her.

 

"Did any of you get the legend of the Pandorica question? What's it supposed to hold?"

 

"I didn't have that, but it was definitely built to house the most feared creature in all the cosmos." Vitalia over-dramaticized that, adding hand motions.

 

The lift came down again, with Professor Whitley and the remaining students who probably hadn't finished their exam.

 

"You will all have to wait here as you're called up in groups of four to take the application portion. Good luck." Professor Whitley kept walking, out of building twelve. Her proctoring was finished, she had no reason to stay.

 

The loudspeaker turned on. "Irina, Violet, Hudson, Colin."

 

Those four looked nervously at their friends, then at each other, and walked over and into the lift, which took them up and out of view. Everyone in the lobby was quiet. The four never came back down before the loudspeaker called for another group.

 

"Medea, Klisia, Luke, Braden." Klisia looked down at her roommates.

 

"I guess they're splitting us up. Well, good luck to you guys!" They murmured good luck to her, too. Before she left, she had to say something else. "Don't worry, Evelyn, you've got this. You'll be great!"

 

Klisia bounded over the couch and stood in the lift as it took her up. She and her group also never came back down.

 

“Phebe, Lillette, Charles, Sylvius.” Another group went up and never came back.

 

“Vitalia, Evelyn, Damek, Seth.” Evelyn’s face gained some color back at hearing she’d be with her friend. River grinned, and Vitalia hugged Evelyn.

 

“See? You’ll be fine. I’ll help you!” They both went up, leaving River alone at their table.

 

“Diana, Emily, Owen, Parolles.”

 

River realized immediately who she was left with. Of course it was her. The computer sorted everyone into their groups- it would have realized the hardest thing for her was to work with someone she disliked.

 

“Alisa, River, James, William.” Alisa was staring at her- River could feel it. However, she just kept her eyes ahead and stepped onto the lift. It took the four of them up, farther than where the written test had taken place. It stopped; They got off. Coach Purve and Professor Forge were waiting for them in the center of the room.

 

The room was massive, and could barely be considered a room. There were rocks scattered everywhere, a little pond in the corner with a stream that wrapped throughout the whole room, trees with branches extending across the field. It looked too peaceful.

 

“Alisa with River. James with William. Your task is to take down the opposing team- without major damage. Seriously, we don’t want anyone injured beyond repair. That will cost you points. You can use anything at your arsenal. If it gets too serious, we’ll step in. We’ll tell you when you can stop. Good luck.” They stepped through a door hidden by the trees. River figured there was a mirror-reversal window, where the teachers could see them but they couldn’t see the teachers.

 

William picked up a rock and threw it at Alisa. She ducked, glared at River, and picked up another rock and threw it back at him. Good, she was taking care of him. River personally thought William was frail... he didn’t look like he’d survive long in this exam.

 

River looked for James- but he had disappeared. She did the first thing she had ever learned in field training- look up. She did, and had enough time to roll out of the way as James landed where she had been a moment before. She stuck out her leg and tripped him as he landed, he stumbled but didn’t fall. He reached for the branch that had fallen from the tree when he jumped. River glanced quickly at the ground, but, finding no other branches, picked up a rock. It wasn’t the best defense, but it would have to do. She had her blaster, but she only had one shot before she lost the element of surprise, so she’d have to save it. He came toward her with the branch, and she used the rock as a sort of miniature shield. Taking in her surroundings at the same time, she noticed a branch ready to fall. She took a risk and tossed the rock with all her might at the crack between the branch and the tree. It, luckily, worked.

 

She ducked under his swinging branch, and picked up the branch that had just fallen. They were having a sword fight now- swinging one way as the other blocked, then the next. River got in closer and closer, finally close enough to hit James’ branch out of his hands. As he turned for a split second to watch it fly away- she pulled out her blaster and stunned him. He fell, and she gazed past to where Alisa was dealing with William.

 

She watched as Alisa choked the poor boy. His eyes were bulging and his skin was turning an odd oxygen-deprived color. River could see Alisa, with that angry glint in her eye, choking him harder and harder. She was going to kill him, River could tell. Without even thinking about her other options, River turned her blaster on Alisa and, for the second time in her life, stunned her. Alisa’s grip on Williams neck loosened, and she fell over sideways. William, finally able to breathe, fell forwards gasping for air. River was the only one left standing in the room. She stared uncertainly about- realizing that she could’ve shouted at Alisa to stop or done something else besides stunning her own teammate. She hoped that wouldn’t go against her.

 

Professor Forge ran out to inspect William, and Professor Purve spoke to the other three. James was beginning to regain control over his body, but Alisa was still paralyzed. They could all hear, however.

 

“Everyone is back in the lobby. Just go down in the lift and join them. You will get your scores soon.” River bent down to William and helped him up. There were marks on his neck, and blood was dripping from where Alisa’s nails had gone in.

 

She let him lean on her as she walked him to the lift, and went down with James. Alisa still lay unmoving up in the room.

 

“That’s a cool blaster.” James told her.

 

“Thanks.”

 

The lift landed them on the first floor. River transferred William to James, and headed over to her friends.

 

“Where’s Alisa? River, what did you do to Alisa?!” Klisia jumped up, bur River merely shook her head. Alisa came down a few minutes later, refusing to look anywhere near River.

 

The whole class waited in silence for their marks to arrive. It took another twenty minutes, but eventually the loudspeaker turned on to announce if they’d passed or failed. Personal grades would be delivered to their rooms later.

 

“Medea Alvarez- Pass; Braden Archer- Pass; Sylvius Castillo- Pass; Lillette Chavez- Pass

Evelyn Gard- Pass; Phebe Gonzales- Fail-” Someone started crying, River could only assume it was Phebe. “Seth Hall- Pass; Colin Hamilton- Pass; Violet Hawkins- Pass; Parolles Hong- Pass; Owen Marshall- Pass; Alicia Moore- Pass; James Myers- Pass; Luke Palmer- Pass; Irina Porter- Pass; Hudson Price- Pass; William Shmidt- Fail; River Song- Pass; Emily Stephens- Pass; Vitalia Thorngood- Pass; Damek Torres- Fail; Klisia Walker- Pass; Diana Warren- Pass; Charles Webb- Pass. If you have passed, please return to your rooms and prepare for your month long break. If you failed, please stay here and we will talk with you.”

 

Klisia screamed and grabbed River, Evelyn, and Vitalia in a huge hug. Evelyn looked like she might actually faint. The whole room had exploded in cheers when the list ended, except for the three who failed. Phebe, William (who still looked faint and had blood running down his neck), and Damek looked dead.

 

The four friends ran out of building twelve and to their room in celebration, ready to pack for a month’s vacation. River couldn’t wait to tell her dad how right he was- time at the Academy did pass quickly! River would enjoy the break with her dad, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to wait to come back with her friends for the rest of her education.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

“So what did you put for the question that asked ‘What is located at galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero by zero-two from the galactic zero centre?’?”

 

“Evelyn, I don’t even remember having that question on the test. Maybe we had different tests?” Or maybe she hadn’t really paid much attention to what she was answering. River found she was recently getting distracted in her Universal Locations class. She thought perhaps it was the stuffiness of the classroom. “Come on, let’s go meet up with Vitalia and Klisia. I’m starving.”

 

They exited building eight and headed towards building three. They were intercepted before they stepped much farther. James and another boy that the girls recognized as in their year came up in front of them.

 

“Hi.” The one that wasn’t James said shyly. River couldn’t, for the life of her, remember his name. Luckily, Evelyn did.

 

“Hi, Owen.” She blushed.

 

“I was just wondering... Um, Evelyn... there’s the Academy’s annual dance... for upperclassmen... coming up next week... Could you... Would you... like to go? With me, I mean?” Evelyn blushed a deeper red.

 

“I’d like that, Owen. I can’t wait.” She grabbed River and started to pull her away so Owen wouldn’t see her turning a sunburned-type red. They didn’t get very far- James called out.

 

“Wait! River! Would you like to go with me?” River turned around in surprise.

 

“Sure!” Why not? She had just gone from not even knowing there was a dance to being invited to one. She’d say it was a pretty productive five minutes. She turned back around and kept walking, eager to tell the other two girls what had just happened. Evelyn stumbled, but River steadied her and they kept walking to the cafeteria.

******

 

“You have to wear this, Ev. I’m serious. This color brings out your eyes perfectly.” Klisia had gone hunting through her closet the second classes ended for the day. She now laid out every possible dress she thought would look good for either of them.

 

Evelyn twirled in front of the mirror. The long, light turquoise dress really did bring out her eyes. Her long, brown hair also looked great with the dress.

 

“I’ve never worn something this perfect... Aren’t you going to the dance? Are either of you?” She asked Klisia and Vitalia.

 

“No, definitely not. There’s no guy here I’d want to go with.” Vitalia said. “I’d much rather stay here and work on my ‘Condensed Matter and Their Molecules: How Multi-Dimensional Travel Affects Them’ report for Harrington. I need to pull my grade up in his class.”

 

“And the guy I wanted to go with is going with Medea. Which isn’t fair at all. I’ve got a much better personality than that witch.” Klisia added.

 

“Yes, you do. Anyone’s better than someone who hangs out with Alisa.” Klisia grinned.

 

“Well, duh. Okay, River, try this on.” She handed River a shorter black dress. “It’ll look great with your curls. Which you’re leaving curly, by the way.” River didn’t even try to protest. “You two are going to let us do your hair, right?”

 

Vitalia laughed. “Do they honestly have a choice?”

******

 

There was a knock on their door. Vitalia got up from the couch where she sat with her laptop, straightened her pajamas, and opened it. Owen and James stood there in tuxedos. She appraised them before calling for Klisia.

 

“Klisia! They’re here.” She didn’t move over to let them in. Instead, she purposefully blocked their view of their dorm.

 

Klisia walked out holding a straightener, a comb, and a curling iron. She placed them on the table.

 

“Alright, you two. You ready to see your dates?” She didn’t give them a chance to respond. “Owen, here’s Evelyn. You had better take care of her.”

 

Evelyn walked out, blushing a little more than slightly, and Owen blushed as well. Vitalia rolled her eyes at this and moved to sit back down on the couch.

 

“Wow, Ev, you look beautiful.” He was right, she did. She normally looked beautiful, but tonight she was stunning. Klisia had fully straightened her hair, before pulling some of it back and curling it. Her dress brought out her eyes, which sparkled in the lights in the dorm. Evelyn headed towards him shyly. They both smiled and tried not to meet each other’s eyes.

 

“And now, James, River!” River walked out in her black dress, shorter than most things she wore. Typically, she stuck to jeans, but this was a special occasion. Klisia had kept her hair curled, and straightened the very first strands, which she pulled back in a black clip made of diamonds captured from an expedition to the planet called Midnight.

 

“You look really good, River.”

 

Vitalia snorted from the couch. “She looks freaking amazing, what are you talking about?”

 

River looked around at her. Vitalia winked; River rolled her eyes. Then she turned around to look at James, wondering if she was supposed to say something back to him. She didn’t and decided that standing there awkwardly was fine for her.

 

Owen coughed. “Well, um, do you want to go, now?”

 

James offered his arm to River. She took it, and the four of them headed down the stairs, leaving Klisia and Vitalia wishing them the best.

******

 

Dancing was hard work, River decided. Actually pretending to be interested in her date was harder. As it turned out, all James really wanted to talk about was her blaster. She was glad Klisia had wretched it out of her hands when she’d wanted to bring it; otherwise she’s be having to pull it out to show him everytime he asked. Though she loved talk of blasters and new sorts of weaponry, now was not a time she wanted to be having this conversation. Luckily, she was quite good at excusing herself.

 

“Hey, James, I’m just going to go get something to drink. My head is pounding.”

 

“Oh, okay. That’s fine. When you come back you can finish explaining the different modes your blaster can reach.” It’s a stun blaster, you idiot, there are no “different modes”. There’s “stun”. That’s it. Silently talking to him wasn’t helping her, and she figured a drink might be nice, so she headed off to find one.

 

On the way, she noticed Evelyn with Owen. They were both laughing, and seemed to have gotten over the shy barrier. They looked so happy together, River thought. She managed to find the refreshments- though they didn’t look entirely appetizing. She couldn’t tell if it was real or not, but it certainly looked like a Slitheen eyeball was in the drink bowl. How... appetizing. She carefully backed away, her thirst completely gone. From around a corner, she overheard two people whispering.

 

“And Agent Song never found out-”

 

“Lower you voice, Logan, you wouldn’t want to be heard.”

 

“Sorry, Professor. But she found out about the weapon we were designing. What happened to her?”

 

“She didn’t agree with our methods and she knew too much. We sent her on a mission that we knew no one could succeed.”

 

“You killed her?!”

 

“No. She died of her own accord. She knew too much. We knew she was planning a rebellion to stop it.”

 

River had caught her breath and was listening to the conversation in horror. They were talking about her mom. HER mom. She hadn’t heard anyone even mention her since Mars on her eighth birthday. She noticed Evelyn staring at her. She waved her over, and saw Evelyn excuse herself from her date and hurry over.

 

“What’s-” River put a finger to her lip and mouthed listen.

 

“Was it completed then?”

 

“Not quite. But it was close. Song stole the plans, and wiped the computers. We had to start all over. That’s why we needed you. So tell me, is it nearly complete?”

 

“Yes. We need little less than a year. It will be complete soon.”

 

“Excellent, excellent. Have we a name?”

 

“No, sir, the time tomb-”

 

“Voice, boy! Lower it.”

 

“Sorry, sir. No, we don’t have a name for the time tomb yet. But we will.”

 

“Good. We will talk again when it’s near completion.”

 

Evelyn yanked River away and towards the refreshments table (where, to River’s future disgust, she’d realize the Slitheen-looking eye was gone). River kept putting her hand where her blaster should’ve been, cursing that it wasn’t at her hip. She was glad that Evelyn retained her sense and pulled her away, because the unknown professor was walking right where they had been standing.

 

“River... are you alright?” She ground her teeth. “I think you should leave. Would you like me to take you back?”

 

“No, I’m fine. You stay and have fun.”

 

“I don’t trust you walking across the campus by yourself.”

 

“Get James, then. He can be useful for something.” She agreed with Evelyn- she didn’t trust herself either. The one thing she wanted right now was to snap that professor’s neck. She knew that if she were to look at herself in the mirror right now, she’d see that dangerous glint in her eyes again.

 

She stayed where she was as Evelyn brought James to her.

 

“Her headache is just horrible. And she feels like she’s going to throw up.” River realized that this was true. “Could you take her back, James?”

 

“No problem!”

 

He grabbed her arm carefully and steadied her- her look told him she wasn’t quite here. Evelyn hugged her and whispered “We’ll tell the others later. I’ll be back soon.” in her ear.

 

James walked her back to her dorm, still chattering unceasingly about her blaster. She really wanted to strangle him, but she was completely zoning out.

 

“I’m sorry for making you leave early, James.” She told him. He shrugged.

 

“It’s okay. Well, see you later, I guess.” She nodded and closed the door on his face.

 

She ignored the others and went straight into her bedroom, breaking down and crying into her pillow. Her friends came in and surrounded her, and Evelyn came in thirty minutes later to explain what had happened. They stayed by her side all night, making sure she was alright.

 

She wasn’t just crying, though. She was thinking. She was thinking that there was a reason her mom had decided to try and destroy the time bomb. She was thinking it was dangerous. She was thinking her mom would not have died in vain. And she was definitely thinking she’d need a plan.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

River read the letter from her father once more.

 

“Yeah, guys, this is definitely the place he mentioned.”

 

“You’re positive, River? It’s a bit... cramped.” Vitalia told her.

 

“Well, yes. It might have been bigger when he was in school, I don’t know. But it’s this now.”

 

The four girls were on the third floor of building three. In a janitorial closet. A high-tech janitorial closet, but a janitorial closet none the less.

 

“And you’re certain he said today?” Evelyn asked her.

 

“Here- you read it.” River handed the letter to her. Evelyn skimmed it.

 

“River’s right, it’s here and now.” She checked her watch. “Actually, right now.” Almost before she finished that sentence, there was a flash of blue light and Jack stood before them.

 

“Dad!” River reached over Klisia to hug her father.

 

“Shh, shh. People can still hear us. Right, why are we all in a closet? It should be safe to come out. Someone check.”

 

Klisia poked her head out. “Yeah, there’s no one here. It’s Saturday, no one’ll be in the cafeteria right now.”

 

“Right then, everyone out.” Jack filed the girls out and they sat down at a table.

 

“Thanks for coming, dad.” He grinned at her.

 

“Adventures, mysteries, and my daughter, how could I not come? Not to mention the desire to see how much the Academy has evolved since my days here.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “It’s probably the same, dad. Okay, should we start?”

 

Evelyn pulled out a pen and opened her notebook.

 

“What are you doing?” Vitalia asked her.

 

“Taking notes...”

 

“On a meeting? That we shouldn’t be having? About a rebellion against the school? What would happen if someone found it?”

 

“Oh... yeah, I guess you’re right.” She put them away.

 

Jack spoke. “So you heard a student talking to a professor about a sort of weapon. A time tomb. We don’t know what it does, we do know your mom did. And she tried to destroy it, managed to destroy the plans, and staged a rebellion, but she died before she completed it. Our job is to continue what she started, am I correct?” The girls all nodded. “It’ll be dangerous.” When that didn’t phase them, his face lit up and he grinned. “That’s the spirit. Right, we need a plan.”

 

“Well, Mr. Song-” Klisia started.

 

“No, no. It’s Harkness. But you can call me Jack.” River kicked him under the table.

 

“Sorry, Jack. We were thinking that the perfect date to stage a rebellion and take down the Agency would be the graduation exam. And, actually, we have researched the time tomb a little. We know a basic understanding of what it could accomplish. And let’s just say, it needs to be stopped.”

 

“What have you found out about it?”

 

Vitalia answered him. “Well, it’s known as the time tomb. It’s sort of like a Time-Locked thing, but worse. They intend to put people into the time tomb, we think, and it locks them in place throughout all of time. This person cannot move within the tomb at all, nor can anyone get in to save them. They’re suspended in time. Things can happen to them, though. Say you were to light them on fire. They’d burn. Just burn, with no way of stopping it. We aren’t certain whether or not the person is aware of what’s happening, but if they did they’d have no way of saving themselves, so it’d be better if they didn’t know. And the Agency is intending to strengthen and expand this tomb- to cover entire planets.”

 

“Not just planets.” Evelyn cut in. “Whole galaxies. They want them to stop orbiting and living. They’re calling it the most powerful weapon ever designed. And it seems to be. It’s wrong and immoral. It needs to be stopped.”

 

Jack was listening intently. “Well, we’re the ones to stop it. I liked your idea about staging it during the graduation exam. That’s perfect timing. I know the passcode to the administration building. And I’m guessing that the plans are stored in the Headmaster’s computer. If you can get in there and wipe the hard drive, it would gain us some time. However, it won’t be easy. You’d also need to be in the written portion of the exam, so they don’t get suspicious. So that leaves you with the time between your written exam and your application.”

 

“I can hack into the computer that groups people, make two of us- not all four, they’d get suspicious if it wasn’t two girls and two guys- grouped together and called last. Which would give us a window of time to get into the Headmaster’s office. A small window, though, we’d have to be quick.”

 

“I could meet the two of you near the headmaster’s office, and give you the passcode. We can get in there, wipe the computer, and get out. The two of you that do do it are going to have to be quick, though, and get back to the testing facility. You’ll need to be able to take your exam. Now, which two will it be?”

 

“Me.” River exclaimed before she even thought about it. “My mom died getting rid of it once. I’m not letting her die in vain. Not now, when I have this chance.”

 

“And me.” Vitalia said. She smiled. “Admit it, we’re the best at stealth and combat. We can get in there quickly, wipe the computer, and get back before it’s our time.”

 

Klisia spoke up. “But what if you don’t?”

 

“We aren’t going to think about that just now.” River told her.

 

“Right, well, I’d best be off. Wouldn’t want them seeing a graduated Agent here. River, here.” He handed her his sonic blaster. She stared at it.

 

“Dad...?”

 

“River, take it. I want you to be able to protect yourself. It was your mother who erased the plans the first time, I don’t want them getting nervous and attacking you. Protect yourself.”

 

River took the blaster, and then engulfed her father in a hug.

 

“I love you, dad.”

 

“I love you, too, River. See you in six months.” Jack grinned, and then used his vortex manipulator to zap out.

 

“Should we go?” Klisia asked.

 

“Yeah. We need to prepare ourselves for our graduation exam.” River held the blaster her father had given her. She examined it gingerly and thought of all the dangers involved in the plan they had created. “Yes... we’re definitely going to need to prepare ourselves.”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

River was the first one up this time. She rolled over in her bed and thought about what they were about to attempt. Though the plan seemed sound, there were difficulties and risks that they were to be taking. She also realized that if they failed their plan, or someone saw them, they'd be expelled- never to become qualified time agents. Or they'd die, but River was trying hard not to think about that possibility. 

She got up from her bed and opened her closet, no doubts about what she was going tp wear. It felt fitting that the last exam she took, the first proper mission she had, would be with her black skinny jeans, white long-sleeve, v-neck shirt. And her dad's sonic blaster, of course. She reminded herself to let Vitalia borrow her stun blaster, so she'd at least have that to protect herself. 

She dressed and headed into the kitchen. As she was musing, Klisia must have woken up. She was starting breakfast, for none of them wanted to go to the cafeteria this morning. She looked up as River walked in. 

"You look so tense, are you okay?" She asked River. 

"I will be. I'm just nervous. So many things could go wrong. Klisia, we could die." 

"River, no one is going to die. I promise you. You and Vitalia will get into the office, wipe the computer, and get back. You'll become a qualified agent, and then the four of us will work out a way to take down the Agency to prevent them from ever building the time tomb again. Everything will work out." 

River smiled grimly at her words, but still couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. 

Evelyn came out of her room, flipping pages in her notebooks, doing some last minute cramming. She was dressed with her hair in a ponytail, and looked completely confident.

“Evelyn, how are you still studying?”

“I don’t know! I’m afraid there are some last minute points I’ve forgotten.”

“There aren’t, I can tell you that.” Vitalia told her as she walked out of their room, yawning. “Right, are we ready to do this?”

“Let me just get my laptop.” Evelyn ran to her room, grabbed it, and ran back. “There. Now we’re all set to group you and Vitalia together, last.” She told River.

“Alright. Let’s eat, and then go.”  
******

River thought the Graduation Exam’s written portion of the exam was much easier than the exam after year three. Maybe it was because she had started taking subjects that interested her, and not just the basics.

Klisia was, once again, the first one finished with her test. River was second, followed by Vitalia and then Evelyn. They sat down at a table in the far corner, away from the chattering and inquisitive eyes of their senior class. Evelyn pulled out her laptop from her bag, and River took the bag from her and dug in it, pulling out her stun blaster. She handed it to Vitalia.

“Just for this, you need some protection.” She whispered. Vitalia nodded, and, not really knowing where to put it, pocketed it.

“Okay. I’m overriding the system now. And I have the alarm plans- all doors on this floor sound an alarm if you open them. However, if you time your exit precisely with that of Professor Hastings, I doubt anyone will notice you leaving. There’s a door behind us, near the women’s restroom. If you two can open the door at the same time as Hastings, you’ll be safe. I think.”

“How do they get back in?” Klisia asked.

“Well, I’m certain they’re more inclined to let them in than they are to actually letting them out. But I’ll think of something. Don’t worry.”

“Should we go stand by the bathroom? I think we can see the door from here.” Vitalia asked Eveyln.

She checked her watch. “Yeah, actually. The lift should be coming down with the remaining students any minute now. It’ll be less noticeable if you’re already over there.”

River jumped up. “Okay, then.” She hugged Evelyn and Klisia. “If we don’t make it back, I love both of you to death. And you know what to do.”

Vitalia stared after her as she walked towards the bathroom. “She’s pessimistic all of sudden- since when is River pessimistic?!” None the less, she hugged them, too, and headed over to join River.

They watched as the lift came down, Hastings made a little speech to the seniors about the importance of this exam, and kept walking. River studied Hastings as she placed her hand on the door. Four steps... three... two now... one... and push! She pushed open the door at exactly the same time as her professor, and walked out with Vitalia tailing her. She carefully closed the door, making sure it made no noise.

Klisia watched them leave and Evelyn monitored her laptop, in which she had set up cameras throughout the school to watch for them. They’d be safe, wherever they were.  
******

They crouched behind some bushes. The last thing they needed was someone to recognize them and have them reported. The whole school knew today was senior exam day, and River doubted anyone would hesitate to report them.

“This way.” She whispered. She crept behind building thirteen, where the dance had been held, and towards building one. Vitalia followed her closely. She was really hoping there were no alarms set to trigger the moment she stepped in a certain spot. 

They were past building three and behind building one.

“Evelyn said there was a teacher exit somewhere... over... here...” she told Vitalia as she felt the wall. “It should be about here.” She uncovered the hand scanner and frowned. “Does this register teacher DNA... or just scan for human and not android capabilities?”

“Only one way to try out.” Vitalia placed her hand on the scanner and River caught her breath. For a second, nothing happened, and both thought they were dead for sure. Then the door slowly slid open. River grabbed Vitalia’s wrist and pulled her through, breaking into a run and turning into the nearest room she could find. She had no idea what types of alarms had been triggered with the scanner, but River definitely didn’t want to find out. 

“Yeah, River, not here. This is, like, the least safest place.” They both looked around. Vitalia was right- the tables and coffee maker could only mean this was a staff room. Luckily, there were no teachers in here at the present moment, or they would’ve been in trouble. They slowly backed out.

The rest of the school still had their classes, so that took care of maybe two thirds of the teaching staff. Which would make it easier, but not by much. They crept towards the stairs. Unfortunately, no matter how much luck they had, nothing could change the fact that the stairs were surrounded by glass looking out onto the campus. Glass that any student or teacher below could easily look up at spot them through.

They hurried up the steps, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. They stopped at the fourth floor and hurried to the spot they were to meet Jack. He was already there, holding out his hand telling them to stop walking. They quickly hid behind a corner as a teacher walked past. Jack beckoned them over; They hurried to his side. 

“Listen, I have the passcode to the headmaster’s office. I’ve also gotten a contact to schedule a meeting in building eight for him. He won’t be in there. I’ve got your back the whole time, in case something happens. Remember, we aren’t here to do anything but wipe the plans and get you both back to your exam. Nothing extra that could compromise the mission.”

“Right, dad. Gotcha. Come on.” River followed the map of the floor on her control pad, heading towards the headmaster’s office. “Come on, Vitalia.” 

They walked forwards, to the right, another right, a left, keep going straight... River knew her dad was behind her, and she felt safer than she had. But something kept nagging her- something wasn’t quite right. If she had some evil plans for a massive weapon... she definitely wouldn’t keep it only on one hard drive. She’d make a copy. Keep the original for herself... Send the copy to the high authority. Which means... that they’d be erasing the copy in the headmaster’s office. And the original would still be out there, lurking in the dark, dangerously close to being complete. But they only had time for one wipe- barely enough time as it was. And what if she was wrong? What if it really was only on one computer? Then she’d be putting herself, Vitalia, and her dad at risk.

They arrived at the headmaster’s office, Jack rolling up his sleeve to show the passcode he had written there. He typed it into the keypad and the door opened. 

“I’ll cover for you two. Just get in there, wipe it, and get out. Hurry.” He told them. They nodded, and closed the door to the office behind them.

The office was lavishly decorated in plum and maroon. It was an... overwhelming... choice of coloring, but they had no time to reflect on that. Vitalia hurried to the computer and plugged in River’s control pad. They had full access to the whole hard drive.

“You okay, River?” Vitalia asked as she typed numbers into the pad.

“Yeah... Just, Vi, if you had an important weapon, wouldn’t you only send the copy?” Vitalia looked up in surprise.

“Actually, yeah. I’d keep the original. But... then, would this be the copy?” 

“I don’t think it matters which is the copy. The point it, there would have been two plans. And we’re destroying one. Not the other.”

“Oh my Clom, River, you’re right. And everyone would still be in danger! Do you have any idea where the other would be?”

“Building eight. Top floor. The lab that’s always locked. We never knew what was in it. I’m fairly certain we do now.”

The pad beeped, and Vitalia ejected it from the computer. They were done, they did what they had planned. Except...

“We need to get that other set of plans, River.”

“I know. But it’s dangerous and we don’t have time.”

“Didn’t your dad say that the headmaster had gone to building eight for the meeting?”

“Yep.”

“You know we need to wipe the other one. Think of the future, River! We could be saving whole planets! Whole galaxies, for Clom’s sake!”

“My dad’s out there.”

“He’ll follow us.”

“He always does. Alright, let’s do this.”

They opened the door and ran out without looking at Jack. He was shocked, but his feet immediately followed them. What were they doing? He thought. His daughter was going to get herself killed! He followed them, not daring to even let the girls out of his sight for a moment.

Vitalia led them down the stairs at an extremely quick pace, River was glad she was a fast runner or she’d be stumbling. They went out the way they came in, through the hidden teacher exit in the back. They ran across the empty campus (everyone was in class), knowing that anyone looking out a window could see them. They flew into building eight and up all eleven flights of stairs. Jack was following the girls, and River knew that. They just had to get into the locked office. What if it wasn’t the only copy? What if there were more than two? She refused to let herself think that. No one had time to make a third copy. It’d be pointless, and there would be no point in three copies for two people.

They were panting when they finally stopped running, standing in front of the locked building. It was another hand scanner. River took the risk this time and placed her hand on it. She had time to hear her father catch up to them as the door slid open and they walked inside. Jack didn’t follow them inside. Vitalia headed towards the computer and plugged the control pad in. River was bouncing in place, everything was going too slowly. Where was her father?

She turned from the computer to see Headmaster, the unknown professor from the dance, and two men who looked like they were at least part android. And right in between the android men was her father. He was struggling to get out, but he shouted “Run! Just run!” when he saw her looking. She glanced at the Headmaster leering at them, and at Vitalia, who had just heard the beep! of a successful wipe and had pulled the pad out from the computer, and lastly at her dad. 

He wanted her to run, to get out. Save herself. But she couldn’t leave him. They’d do something awful to him. Graduated agents weren’t supposed to come back to the Academy, not unless they were teaching. And to make it worse, he was helping with a break-in. She couldn’t leave her father.

“River, if you don’t run and protect yourself, I will ground you.” He joked. Even captured, he could still smile and pretend it’s alright. Vitalia had sense and grabbed River- who would’ve just stood there dumbly if she hadn’t- and pulled her out of the room. The Headmaster was taken aback by this sudden movement, and they got past him. River grabbed her sonic blaster and shot at the nearest android man. He fell to the floor, and River tossed her blaster to her dad. He caught it, and she felt better running when she knew he had protection. He could get himself out of anything if he had the chance.

Vitalia gave her the stun blaster she had borrowed back as they ran- River quickly placed it in her holster. It felt right to have a gun there. They were stuck, though. They had no way off of the Academy without a vortex manipulator. 

“Time?” River asked as they ran. Vitalia checked her watch.

“They finished the exam twenty some minutes ago. We’re really late.”

“Right, head to the room. But fast, that’s the first place they’d look.” River didn’t even care they missed their exam- they wouldn’t’ve been qualified now, anyways.

They crashed into their room, startling Evelyn and Klisia. 

“Oh my gosh, are you-” Evelyn cut herself short as she realized what had happened. “Klisia, use your new vortex manipulator, take them somewhere and come back. We’ll bring your stuff later, guys, don’t worry. They won’t find you.”

“Evelyn, if they find you alone in here they’ll torture you. They know you’d help us.”

“I don’t care, River. Just go, protect yourself. They’ll listen to me, I can stall. I have straight A’s, they won’t just shoot. Just go! We’ll help you out later.”

Klisia grabbed both of their hands and shoved them onto the vortex manipulator. They flashed out as River realized that, for the second time in her life, in a span of maybe ten minutes, she was running away.


	9. Chapter 9

Yes, he had the blaster. He realized that, he felt its weight in his hand. Everything seemed to be moving so slowly... But why? He turned around to shoot at the other man holding his arm- but he couldn’t. Well, he could, but it was in extreme slow motion. He wondered if they drugged him with something. He tried to remember back, but he couldn’t. He’d been panting- he was slightly out of shape, he had admitted to himself as he tried to keep up with his daughter- and they grabbed him. Something had pricked the side of his neck- had they injected something nauseating? Probably.

 

Jack tried to attack, but he just stumbled dizzily backwards, hitting the wall. He shoved his sonic blaster into his pocket, making a mental note that it was there, in case they tried something funny. He could feel himself losing consciousness, and he knew there wasn’t anything else he could do. But his daughter was safe- River was safe, and will be safe, and he’d meet up with her later. He slumped against the wall, sliding down, completely unconscious, his last thoughts on his daughter.

******

 

Evelyn had been expecting them. She knew this would be the first place they’d search. They didn't knock on the door, just burst through; slamming it into the wall. She tried to appear startled.

 

"We know you know where River Song and Vitalia Thorngood are. It would be in your best interest to tell us."

 

"I don't know what you mean! Have you seen them? They never showed up after the exam! Where were they?"

 

She couldn't tell if the seemingly-android men believed her. She needed something more convincing.

 

"Are they okay? Why weren’t they at the exam?!" She feigned innocence and hoped it would work long enough for Klisia to come back and smooth talk their way out of it.

 

It seemed to work. The men believe that she was innocent; However, they still had a job to do.

“Where is your room mate? Klisia Walker. Where is she?” Oh. Clum.

 

“She’s in the bathroom.” She figured it was a safe lie- it’s not like two men were about to barge in on a girl. Evelyn stared at them, curious as to what they’d do. They sat down on the couch.

 

“We can wait.”

******

 

“Klisia, where are we?” Vitalia stumbled as they flashed back onto land, but River caught her.

 

“Uh, hold on.” Klisia checked her vortex manipulator’s screen.

 

“Well, I’m not quite sure. We were supposed to land at my house... But this definitely isn’t it.” She fiddled with the manipulator, and they flashed out again, only to land in front of a large four story building. “Right, follow me!”

 

The two followed her as Klisia ran into the door and up stairs until she reached the third floor. She opened a door to her right, and led them inside to her bedroom. The walls and bedding were more modernized, but the decorations showed that no one had really lived here for a while.

 

“You two wait here. I’ll be back. I don’t know how long I’ll be, though. If my mom comes up, feel free to socialize with her. Don’t leave the house and stay away from the windows. If anyone comes looking for you two, hide in my closet, there’s a hidden door. Alright, see you soon.” She typed something into her new vortex manipulator and flashed out.

 

Vitalia flung herself down onto the bed and River flipped a figurine of a bear over in her hand, both wondering how long they’d have to wait.

******

 

“Turn it to maximum erase.” The headmaster told the android men. “I want all traces of his pesky daughter out of his mind. That will be punishment enough for her. He’ll never remember her... but she’ll always remember what she did to him.”

 

“But what’s his punishment, sir?” The scientist asked. “They wiped all my plans. I’m going to have to start over. Again.” He kicked the nearest thing angrily. “I want punishment.”

 

“You’re correct, of course. Erase the last two years of his life. That’ll take care of him. He’ll be tormented once he realizes they’re gone and he has no idea why.”

 

“Yes, sir.” The android men said at the same time.

 

The scientist sighed heavily. Erasing one’s mind would do no good for his wiped plans. He hated the Songs more than anything... And River would pay for what she’s done. But it did help to know someone was receiving some punishment for her actions.

******

 

Klisia flashed into her room. She could hear Evelyn babbling to the men in their living room- she babbled when she was nervous- and she wondered what she was to do. She had no idea where Evelyn said she was, she couldn’t just walk out there! What if she said she was still in the testing facility. She decided to wait and listen to the conversation.

 

Five minutes later in Evelyn’s rant about the grading policy at the Academy, the men cut her off.

 

“We need to see your friend now, your time is up. Tell her she must come out of the bathroom or accept the punishment of being an accomplice.”

 

Evelyn looked scared, and her voice cracked when she said “Oh, okay.”

 

Luckily, Klisia over heard, flashed herself into the bathroom, flushed the toilet for good measure, and walked into the living room.

 

“...Hello?”

 

“Klisia Walker?” She nodded. “Where are River Song and Vitalia Thorngood? We need them.”

 

“Well, I don’t know. I looked for them after the exam, but they weren’t there. I hope they didn’t get hurt in their application exam! Are they alright?”

 

“You have no recollection of any place they could be?”

 

“No... I left for my application test and they were still sitting there. I have no clue where they went after that. We were hoping to meet them there. Why, do you not know where they are? Who are you, by the way?”

 

They ignored her questions, looked around the room, and back at Klisia.

 

“You’re clear. Report and signs of them to the Headmaster immediately.” Evelyn and Klisia nodded as convincingly as they could. The android men left.

 

Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Gallifrey, that was close. Hurry!”

 

They both ran into their friends’ room. Grabbing all the bags in sight, they threw them onto the couch and hurried into their room, doing the same. Evelyn tied all the bags together for their flight through the time vortex, and they stood on either side, each with a hand on the bags.

 

They typed in the coordinates for Klisia’s room, and hit their vortex manipulators at the same time.

******

 

The Headmaster stared down at the man in the overcoat. In his days at the Academy, Jack Harkness was the best student they had in field training. It appeared he lost some of his skill, for here he was, weak, vulnerable, and able to be taken out by two androids. The old Jack wouldn’tve been defeated so easily.

 

The man shifted in his sleep. His face was peaceful, calm, and relaxed. It was such a shame he sided with the traitors. At least he remained in the Agency, they needed Agents with such skill.

 

“Androids! Take him to his apartment. Place him in his bed, and leave. Don’t mess with anything. Leave his gun in his pocket, we don’t need him getting suspicious too quickly. Get rid of all the letters from his daughter, any trace of her. Make sure he never realizes she existed. Hurry along.”

 

The Headmaster turned and headed out, knowing the androids would follow his orders.

******

 

Their luggage and bags exploded through the room. The two girls fell onto the bed, nearly crushing Vitalia. River got hit in the head with a bag. Lucky for them, their belongings stayed zipped where they belonged. Unfortunately, the bags were now spread everywhere. The girls scrambled to find their own bags to collect them.

 

Once everyone had their rightful belongings, Klisia and Evelyn offered to take them wherever they wanted to go. Vitalia said her parent’s villa in the country, and Klisia teleported her there.

 

River was curious if her father would be at home already, and desperately wanted to meet up with him again. She grabbed hold of her belongings, and Evelyn used her vortex manipulator to teleport themselves to River’s apartment.

******

 

They landed just inside her apartment. The moment she looked around, River knew something was different. The pictures she had drawn as a child were gone, and she doubted Jack had the attention span to take them down and find somewhere to put them. And he would’ve replaced them with something, not just empty wall.

 

With a sinking feeling, she ran into her childhood bedroom, Evelyn close on her heel. She gasped. Everything was gone. It was still a bedroom, but not hers. The covers were white, bland, and boring. Definitely not her bedspread covered in planets. Everything that had once been in her room was gone.

 

She poked her head into her father’s room. Jack was asleep in his clothes, (overcoat included) looking more peaceful than she had ever seen him. She knew what this all added up to. So did Evelyn. They both realized with horrific dread what had happened to River’s father. There was no possibility that he had not been mind wiped. She wiped the computer. They wiped her life from her dad’s existence.

 

River stumbled backwards in shock and disbelief. Her father would never remember her. No matter what she did, he would never know the great times, the fun times, the stressful times, the getting-out-of-trouble times they shared. They killed her, in essence. She will never have been born to him, just another face in the great big universe. She couldn’t stay here.

 

She went to the drawer in the kitchen where she knew he kept spare money that wasn’t in the bank. She took all of it, knowing that he was perfectly fine with what was in his checking account. He wouldn’t have to spend money on her, now. She’d have to live on her own.

 

“Do you need me to teleport you anywhere, River?” Evelyn asked shyly. River glanced up in surprise; She’d forgotten Evelyn was here.

 

“No. I don’t have anywhere else to go. I know what I’m going to do. Live in the city, get a job. I’ll get by. Might even purchase some time traveling equipment someday and see the world.” She refrained from adding like I’ve always dreamed to the end of her sentence.

 

Evelyn came over and hugged her, not sure what else to do. “We’ll keep in touch with you, River. Don’t worry. We’ll help you and we’ll be here for you. Good luck. See you soon.” She teleported out, leaving River standing in her dad’s apartment with her bags.

 

She sighed, packed up a few things around the house she could find, and walked out with her bags. She’d be okay in the city, she knew. It was going to be alright.

******

Jack woke up with a start. Why was he in bed in his clothes? And especially his overcoat! No wonder he felt hot. And his sonic blaster was in his pocket? He’d never fall asleep with that in his pocket- too many dangers. He knew a guy who’d soniced himself while sleeping with his blaster.

 

This was too weird.

 

He got up, slightly dizzy, and felt his neck. It was numb, like something had recently stung it. He rubbed it, and put his hands in his overcoat pocket. His hand felt something. A letter? It was addressed to him. He pulled it out and read the first few words.

 

_Jack,_

_I know this is very unexpected, it was a shock to me, too. This is our daughter. I was never going to tell you, you’re not exactly a man of commitment. I wouldn’t even be sending her to you if not for the Agency._

He stopped there and immediately checked the date he last remembered to the date his vortex manipulator said it was. He lost two years. They took two years from him. Why? And who was his daughter?

 

There was something fishy with the Agency. And he wasn’t going to let them get away with this. He would quit and strike out on his own. And then, maybe, he’d get back at the Agency. No one takes two years of his life.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

“Happy twenty-first, River!” Vitalia said as the four of them clanked their glasses together. It had been two years since the four last seen each other together, but they kept up a daily correspondence.

 

“So what have you guys been doing?” River asked them, taking a sip of whatever was in her drink- she wasn’t sure. Klisia had ordered, so it could be anything. They were sitting in a back corner of the bar, hoping not to be overheard.

 

“Well, Evelyn managed to get a teaching job at the Academy-” Vitalia gaped at Klisia when she mentioned that- “No, not like that, Vi, hold on. And I’ve got an interview tomorrow for an open position.”

 

“Why would you want to work at the Academy after all that?!” Vitalia nearly shrieked at Klisia. River kicked her under the table and glared. They didn’t want any unnecessary ears listening in.

 

“Well...” Evelyn started at a whisper. “We’re hoping to get inside. Once we’re trusted, we can start to see who knows about the plans, who’s working with them, and who wants to help stop it. We’re going to bring the Agency down if it’s the last thing we do, River.”

 

River smiled gratefully at her. “Don’t do anything too risky, Evelyn. I don’t want you getting hurt. But turning the Agency against itself is a great way to defeat it! What about the plans?”

 

“Oh, we think they’ve started up again. But it took them many years to rebuild after your mom wiped them the last time, I think we’ve got time.”

 

“Okay, good. I’m glad we at least put a dent in their plans.”

 

“I know.” Klisia told them. “Okay, Vi, what have you been doing? You had me drop you off in the country, for Clom’s sake!”

 

“What’s wrong with that? It’s a spare villa my parents had bought a while ago. They told me I could live in it when I finished my schooling. I technically finished, even if I never took the exam. Not like they’d ever let me back into the Academy.” She laughed. “Hey, what did I get on my written exam? Anyone know?”

 

“No! We left the room before they sent the score, sorry. I would’ve looked if I’d known you wanted it!” Evelyn told her. “But what are you doing? You have to be making some living!”

 

“Well, yeah. My friend is living with me. She and I have a magazine we started and run together.” They didn’t question her personal life, but they expressed interest in the magazine, so she pulled out some subscription sheets. “Just write your name and address, you guys get it for free!” She handed them out. “River, what have you been doing?”

 

“Oh, nothing much. Just some odd jobs. Mostly tech-help.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. I don’t really know what I want to do.” She did know. She wanted to travel in time and space, but River also knew it wasn’t possible without some means of travel. And she definitely didn’t have enough money to buy any. She glanced out the window of the bar. “Guys, was that blue box always there? I swear it wasn’t. I’m going to go check it out.”

 

She got up and left, not caring whether they followed. She headed outside to watch.

 

Three people stood in front of the box, two men and a girl with red hair. They were arguing. River crept closer, not daring to let herself be seen just yet.

 

“Doctor, how can this be possible?” The girl asked. The man cocked his hip- which was a bit strange, but River wasn’t going to judge.

 

“Rory, just let him think. He’ll fix this.” The man told her. The girl’s name was Rory? Wasn’t tha ta boy’s name?

 

“I just want to know how this happened, Amy.” And the guy’s name was Amy. River could tell something had happened. Probably a body swap. Or a mind swap. Whatever you felt like calling it.

 

“Right, Rory, Amy, what were you last doing?” The other man said. It was dark, but she could make out that he was taller than the other two and slightly hunched when he paced-he was doing that now- which made River think he looked quite unsure of his limbs. Nonetheless, he had an air of confidence in his stride.

 

“I was sleeping.” The girl- Rory? So maybe it was actually the man?- told him.

 

“Where?”

 

“Well, I fell asleep downstairs. Not in my room. In the bottom of the control floor.”

 

“Rooorrry.” The man dragged his name out. “Right, Amy, where were you?”

 

“Sitting next to him, reading a magazine. What does this have to do with anything?”

 

“Amy, this has anything to do with everything. Did you happen to notice if he hit anything when he was asleep? Rolled over, knocked a switch? Anything like that?”

 

“Now that you mention it... He did roll over once. He hit his head on something... I heard it, it sounded like it hurt. Actually, it did. I can feel where he hit it. How am I feeling his pain?”

 

“Because you’re in his body and the ache is attached to it, not his mind. And I bet he hit the Telepathic Circuits switch. He must have been dreaming about you, Amy, and then you were next to him, and the TARDIS must have thought he had hit it on purpose. Oh, oh my. That must be awkward. At least you’re married.”

 

“How do you stand all this hair?” Rory- the girl- asked. He swung the girl’s red hair back and forth. “It’s so... heavy. But it’s fun. And so bouncy!”

 

“Forgot the ponytail already, have we?”

 

“Well, that was tied back. This is loose and curled.”

 

“Right, Rory, leave Amy’s hair alone. Luckily, I know how to fix this. All you have to do is stand by the switch and flick it. The TARDIS will fix it for you. However, the switch has a delayed reaction after you flick it once, and you obviously just hit it, so we have to wait thirty minutes. Not to fear!” He tossed them money. “Go explore. Just not too far. Be back in thirty minutes, you two.”

 

They ran off hand in hand, and the man turned and appeared to lock his blue box. He turned back around and looked down the street as if he was searching for something.

 

“Can I help?” River stepped out from the shadows in which she was hiding. She didn’t know why, but she felt she had to know this man.

 

The man jumped at her voice and turned around, the shock clear in his voice. “River?!”

 

“Um, yes?” How did he know her?

 

“You’re looking good. Lost some weight.”

 

“Thanks, I think? Do I know you?”

 

He scrutinized her. Then he laughed.

 

“This is definitely new. Oh, this is brilliant. Great. Wow.” He was throwing out adjectives left and right.

 

“I’m sorry, how do you know me?”

 

He stopped laughing long enough to say “Spoilers.” She placed her hand on her holster, where her stun blaster was located. He noticed.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just something I had to say. You’ll find out why later. I’m The Doctor, by the way. Why did you ask if you could help me?”

 

“Nice to meet you.” She said politely. “Well, you seemed to be looking for something. I know this part of the city like I know my stun blaster.”

 

“I was actually looking for a nice hat shop. I need a new fez. My last one got... blasted to bits.” She stared at him. Who on Clom wore a fez? No wonder it was blasted to bits. She’d do it herself if she hadn’t just met him.

 

“I don’t think there are any hat shops. Sorry, Doctor.”

 

“Doctor! Doctor! Look what I found!” The male, who River assumed was Amy, ran back holding a little blue book that looked suspiciously like the blue box they stood in front of. Amy seemed to notice River- she screamed and hugged her. “River!”

 

The Doctor took the blue book from Amy and examined its pages. It was blank. The doctor giggled- yes, giggled.

 

“And, Doctor, we might need to go now.” He looked up.

 

“Why, Amy?”

 

A few doors down, the girl was being chased out. “And you tell your boyfriend, sweetie, that HE’S NEVER TO COME IN HERE AGAIN.” The door slammed shut.

 

“I got into a fight.” River looked at the body of the girl running up the street towards them. She sized her up- this girl didn’t look like she’d be in a fight. But she had an attitude that River definitely liked.

 

“Right, you two, into the TARDIS. Now.” Amy hugged her again.

 

“See you, River!” She jumped into the blue box, and Rory ran past without noticing her.

 

The Doctor turned to face her. He handed her the little blue book.

 

“Here, River. I think you’ll know what to do with this.” She took it from him and ran her hand over it. It felt... magical.

 

“Thanks. Doctor, why do you seem to know me already? I’ve only just met you.”

 

He smiled at her. “River. Don’t worry, you’ll see us again.” He slid into his box. There was a whooshing noise- something had to be incorrect with that, nothing made that noise- and the box vanished.

 

She stood there and stared at the spot it disappeared. She would see him again. She could feel it. Her friends came out, having paid already, and saw her there.

 

“River, you okay?”

  
“Yeah, I am. I’m very okay.” She had just been given the hope to continue. She knew her future would be alright if that man, The Doctor, was in it with her. And she was ready to meet him again.


End file.
